Yet amother train trip

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Early start for my train journey to Hampi. And another trip across the Western Ghats. Thank god I went sleeper and not A/C this time - the big difference being that the sleeper cars have open windows, aside from a few bars across them, as opposed to the tinted plate glass windows on the A/C carriages.

And when you're crossing the Western Ghats, open windows are the way to go. The scenery was absolutely magnificent. Huge rolling expanses of forested hills, green spotted with an autumnal brown, and fading into multiple shades of blue gray as they disappeared into the distance. Again, I made the decision to look, and not photograph - I took a few shots, but they couldn't possibly do it justice.

It never ceases to amaze me that there are countless millions of people in India, and yet there are still such huge expanses of wilderness, where the only evidence of human existence is the railway track thay you're rolling across. And it makes me realise how impossible it is to see even a fraction of India - this is a whole area that I'm only going to see from a train window. Maybe I should just bow to the inevitable and book a year of so off work. Live on train thalis and sell a kidney or two to pay for the cost of the Kingfishers?

On the train journey, I had the added bonus of being sat next to six people who were taking a three day excursion from Goa to Hampi. Made for interesting conversation - mostly spoke to a couple of Swedes. Very nice, although tanned to the same colour as most of the rosewood they sell around here, and with skin that was starting to take on the consistency only usually seen on elephants, rhinos and cheap leather jackets. What was really good, though, was the guide, who gave an introductory chat about Hampi, pointed out the highlights along the way (including some amazing waterfalls), and, when pushed, gave me a few tips on where to stay in Hampi itself.

Less good were the train kids. Don't know if there's a real name for them, but basically they're little kids who apparently spend their whole lives on the train. They push a rag around the floor, and ask for change for having cleaned the carriage. Probably the most affecting thing that I've come across in India - these kids who can't have been much more than five or six, almost feral, half dressed and, tellingly, far, far more excited to get my leftover rice than they were to get a couple of rupees. One of the Swedes handed over a few crackers, and the kid looked like he'd just won the lottery, chasing over to his mate to show him what he'd got.

Makes you feel a little bit guilty to have a westerner's beer gut, really. My conscience was clearly pricked, though, even if I thought I'd forgotten all about it, given that within the day my stomach was doing all it could to rid itself of any surplus food whatsoever. Poetic justice for troughing down on a train thali while kids celebrated over getting a ritz cracker...

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Photos

Waterfall
These might be Jog Falls. Might not. They're quite pretty though, aren't they?

Comments

[Dad]

pictures
As the old saying goes "pictures make perfect". I didn't know you had been to Slough. Love

[Chris M]

Train Thalis
3rd Class sleeper is the way to travel on the train! Enjoy Hampi but be careful wandering off alone in the more remote parts. Don't miss the temple of Hanuman - it's worth an early morning climb to see the sunrise

[mark]

hey matey. those pics brightened up my day! more of the same please. have a ball in hampi.

[Clinton Vaz]

About the falls
That ws dudhsagar falls in your picture. Jog falls is in another direction. I'm from Goa and live in Benaulim. -clinton [phone] [e-mail]